St. Paul's Lower School11152 Falls RoadBrooklandville Maryland 21022mmay@stpaulsschool.org410.825.4400 x 2181
Welcome to the StP Discovery Center Wiki-Space!
Our Discovery "Field Journal"
Thank you for visiting our Discovery Center Blog and Student Wiki-Space Pages. Below is a log of our students' journey in the Discovery Center. The Table of Contents listing on the rightcan guide you to any particular topic of interest, whereas the Class/Student Links on the left can connect you to individual student pages by selecting the appropriate teacher-class section. Students have thoroughly enjoyed their investigations throughout the year, as evident by their postings; creativity and innovation along with thoughtful reflections through collaboration abound. We hope you enjoy observing virtually their pathways to Discovery! Mr. MayProblem Based LearningThe Discovery Center at St. Paul's Lower School
The St. Paul's Discovery Center in the Lower School: Pathway to Discovery
June 12, 2013: A Teacher's Reflection -- A Year in Review
A Teacher’s Reflection “Project [Problem] Based Learning: A Means for Liberating Many Learners." Project [Problem] based learning is not just a methodology or set of practices, it is a means for liberating many learners. A student in my class, I will call him “Buddy”, is a delightful and resilient young person with an incredible sense of humor, plenty of enthusiasm, and an eagerness to learn. Buddy never stops moving and even when sitting still, his whole person seems to cheerfully vibrate. He is an energetic class contributor and frequently asks terrific deep questions about what we are covering, often with tongue in cheek, but gets distracted before the group is done discussing and exploring potential answers. In fact, when it comes to small group collaboration, Buddy seems to take pride in being the perpetual iconoclast. Buddy is a compulsive pencil tapper, chatter, and stool-tipper who frequently takes the longest possible route to the restroom on his half dozen or so daily trips. Like a shark, if Buddy isn’t moving, something isn’t quite right. For the concluding weeks of school, our Discovery Center fourth grade group had been researching marine engineering, including various boat designs, a vehicle for determining the Archimedes principle when constructing cardboard boats for a collaborative challenge of Saint Alcuin proportion. And after making small paper boats in Science class and researching a variety of historic boat models at the Library, in small groups the kids moved on to designing and building life-size units for our Hurricane! To the Rescue! Cardboard Boat Regatta. When Buddy came into the classroom one day during construction week carrying a large can of gray acrylic paint with an equally large brush, I started to sweat. Getting the other groups started, I anxiously glued myself to Buddy and his crew. Giving a squirrelly kid a task involving painting, let alone handling valuable tools and limited supplies for building? What was I thinking? With many apocryphal stories and urban legends of Chem lab explosions and woodshop tragedies (not to mention my own experience with painting as a boy his age – but that’s a story for another time), swirling around in my mind, I watched the group at work. What unfolded over the course of construction was both informative and gratifying. As soon as the materials hit his palms, Buddy showed a level of comfort I had never observed before and he began directing his teammates through interpreting the construction diagrams, triple checking and accurately measuring cardboard to be cut, and later refining the design with stabilizers, additional all-weather duct tape, and several coats of paint, to increase the sea-worthiness of the craft. On this authentic and very tangible challenge Buddy was a leader, relating what he had been researching, (and not always with complete or consistent engagement) to the physical actualization of his group’s vessel. A few days after our culminating presentation, the race, I wandered in to Buddy’s math class and saw him, as usual, cruising around the room and checking out the scene. Before I could bark at him and corral him back to his table, I heard another student call out, “Buddy, when you’re done over there, can you help me with my problem?” I then realized that the class was working on a set of exercises related to the boating competition and Buddy, a competent but never extraordinary math student, was finished with his work and very capably assisting other students. Project [Problem] based learning requires a deeper degree of teacher planning and trust, but the payoff can be huge, case in point – Buddy. It has been a good year -- for Buddy, for his peers, and for his teacher!
June 3, 2013: Hurricane! To the Rescue! Cardboard Boat Challenge
Hurricane! To the Rescue! Part 2St. Paul’s Lower School Discovery Center – Cardboard Boat ChallengeProject [Problem] Based Learning CulminationSpring 2013
Scenario: Hurricane! The storm is here! You have already saved the day – your team was able to get most of the supplies to Crab Island before the storm washed away the dock. However, the storm also destroyed all the boats. Suddenly, your team receives distress call from another nearby island, St. Alcuin: an archaeologist and her two apprentices are stranded. As this is a very low-lying island, the storm surge will undoubtedly carry away everything, including these poor people. But wait, there is more. The archaeologist has made two incredible discoveries – amazing throwbacks from another era: "Sock Creatures". The fruition of a lifetime of work, the archaeological team states emphatically it will not leave the island without their discovered artifacts. There is no one near to rescue her, the students, or their precious cargo. Time is of the essence! It is up to you. But remember, you have no boat. One of your friends is also an apprentice to a master boat builder, and he thinks your team can quickly build a make-shift boat with the left-over supplies not taken to Crab Island. With this wondrous craft you know you can complete your new mission: Hurricane! To the Rescue! Problem: How can fourth graders, as St. Paul’s Discovery Center “Aspiring Marine Engineers and Emergency Management Specialists” and using all that they have learned through their PBL project, design and create navigable rescue vessels for the Hurricane! To the Rescue! Cardboard Boat Challenge? Culminating Challenge: One adult and two children are stranded on an island. There are also two precious archaeological discoveries (cargoes) in their possession. A hurricane storm surge will eventually swamp the island, and everyone and everything on it will be lost. The only way to get off the island and to safety is by a makeshift boat created by a team of incredible, quick-thinking marine engineers and emergency management specialists (first responders). However, and this is very important to know, realizing the limitations of the craft through consideration of its buoyancy, displacement, and passenger-cargo weight, the team realizes the boat can only carry at one time either “one adult with or without one cargo” or “two children and no cargo”. So just one adult of your team must volunteer to take the boat to the island – Hurricane! To the Rescue!
Building Rules:
Design and build a boat that will complete culminating challenge manually powered by ONE or TWO persons, as outlined. No stowaways! No additional cargo. First team to complete the challenge (may be timed?), wins the challenge.
The entire boat hull and structural components must be constructed using any thickness of corrugated cardboard. The boat can be constructed in any fashion, but must remain open for quick evacuation.
All-weather duct tape, masking tape, plastic trash bags, and single-part paints are the ONLY other materials allowed in the boat construction. If you have to mix it, it isn't allowed.
Any structural material except corrugated cardboard, tapes, and paints is illegal! Some examples are, but not limited to: waxed cardboard, fiberglass, plastic, wood, rubber, shrink-wrap, and two-part glues/epoxies/paints.
Participants must bring oars, created in the Discovery Center, to manually propel the boat. No motors (unless you can build one from cardboard... good luck with that).
Decorative and non-structural items to “enhance” do not have to be made from cardboard. However, any items deemed to be a potential hazard or aid in flotation will need to be removed prior to the race. (Hint: Knowledge of buoyancy, passenger-cargo weight, and displacement will help!)
Competition Rules:
Crew members must be fourth graders, and it is suggested that everyone knows how to swim or at least float (swim party life guards will “test” you on this).
2 “adults” will wear blue; 2 “children” will wear yellow. Two children can travel together; or one child, alone. One adult, or one adult plus cargo. No two adults; no adult with child; no child with cargo.
No poling or pushing off the bottom of the pool to propel the boat.
Any physical contact between opponents will result in immediate disqualification.
If pool space is an issue, our races are held in bracket style. We will be holding initial heats based
Master Boat Builder Mr. James Vitale Guides Aspiring Marine Engineers:
Behind the Scenes with Mr. Scott Winn: Students - Always at the Forefront Their Teams, Their Boats and Their Boat Races at Their Fourth Grade Annual Swim Party -Slideshow:
Hurricane! To the Rescue! Boat Races Preliminary Homeroom Heats: Will They Sink or Float? And What's With These Oars? - Video
The Discovery Center "Hurricane! To the Rescue!" Challenge Race - Video
The Finale: The Pirate Race - Videos
Competition Winners I. Homeroom First Place Awards
(The first boat to cross the finish line in each heat, if need, will be awarded a prize.) A. The Boat Buster (Andrews)
B. The Mustache (Heidelbach)
C. The Watermelon (Koska)
II. St. Paul’s Discovery “Hurricane” Award
(In the Final, the first boat to complete the challenge accurately.) The Boat Buster (Andrews)
III. Students-Choice Award
(The best design as chosen by the attendees of the race.) The Electric Fire (Heidelbach)
Runners Up:The S.S. Discoverer The Death Raft
IV. Titanic Award
(Awarded to the most entertaining / dramatic sinking as chosen by our judges.) The Death Raft (Andrews)
V. Pirate Award!
(All non-sunk boats on deck race for a no-holds-bar finish.) A. The Z.C.E.S. (Andrews)
B. The Shark (Heidelbach)
C. The S.S. Tiger (Koska)
VI. Flotation Award
(All teams receive awards for building and floating their boats!)
May 28, 2013 : Super Bugs are flying, crawling all over the Discovery Center!
eBulletin -- Super Bugs are flying, crawling all over the Discovery Center? Super Bugs are flying, crawling all over the Discovery Center? Following up on their amazzzzzing insect research and presentation, and throughout the month of May, first graders visited the Center to learn how Honey Bees are being trained to solve human problems; they are actually being trained to take the place of sniffer dogs. It is true – it is amazzzzing. They are truly super heroes – they are Super Bugs! Check out the sniffer bee videos on their class wikispace pages: After a discussion about engineers, those who use knowledge and skills and imagination and creativity to solve all sorts of problems, these aspiring engineers then created their own Super Bugs! Already understanding characteristics that animals (especially insects) can use to help them hunt, hide, or attract a mate, students imagined other kinds of adaptations; and using this new-found knowledge, they completed an assignment to use creative thinking skills to design super insects. Ones that would help them solve their own problems. Wait! Can that insect really do your homework?!
April 29, 2013: Second Graders Make Recycled Global Instruments?
eBulletin -- Second Graders visit the Discovery Center!
LandFillHarmonic
Making recycled global musical instruments?! – In Music class? – In Science class? – In IPC Homeroom? No. – In the Discovery Center. And what a Design Thinking Challenge it was – with problem solving of global proportions! Utilizing the process for design engineering; core curricula knowledge and skills from all these; and, their creativity; during the month of April second grade students made global-multicultural musical instruments from recycled materials, as inspired by the “Land-Fill-Harmonic” Orchestra. Students learned how people around the world make music. In some really amazing, beautiful, and diverse ways! People have become really creative in making and remaking instruments – often with the coolest recycled materials. And so did these students. Take a peek at their inspiration as well as their original creations:
March 26, 2013: Prefirst and Kindergarten Challenge
eBulletin -- We Have a Problem!
We have a problem: The Gingerbread Man is on the loose and is going to end up eaten! This calls for an engineering design solution, and the pre-first and kindergarten students are just the ones to provide it. During the month of February, these aspiring engineers created traps to rescue their class-designed gingerbread men from such a fait … well, almost! Take a peek at their wikispace (blog) page by following the link below: “The Cookie Blues”
See Details and More Pictures by Clicking "Kindergarten-PreFirst" Class Link.
February 17, 2013: Crusie Arcade Project
Crusie Arcade Gaming Week Teacher and Parent Examination of Games
Crusie Arcade Parent Letter #3
January 17, 2013
Dear 4th Grade Discovery Center Students and Parents:
Well, we are finally wrapping up our Crusie Arcade PBL – and what an experience it has been! It is now time to present our creations to the larger St. Paul’s Lower School community. The fourth graders are pleased to invite students, parents, faculty, and administration and staff to “drop by” the Discovery Center sometime during our designated Crusie Arcade Gaming Week, February 4-8. The attached schedule is when each class – consisting of eight students; four game partner teams – will be presenting its particular arcade games (two opportunities throughout the week). No RSVP necessary. Parents are of course encouraged to visit during their child’s presentation times, but certainly are welcome to stop in at other times to see other games as well. Lower school homerooms with their teachers and the administration and staff are invited to visit as their schedules permit; and we would appreciate they rsvp so to make sure all students have a chance to play; and all fourth graders, present. Please know the children are so very pleased with their work and are anxious to share this stage of the engineering design process: “Try It Out”. Bravo to them for their efforts! Best, Mr. May PBL Teacher - Discovery Center Crusie Arcade Parent Letter #2
October 29, 2012
Dear 4th Grade Discovery Center Students (and Parents):
Congratulations on completing the engineering research and orthographic concept design for your Crusie Arcade game. It is now time to collect materials for its construction! Attached are a few items that will assist you in your hunt: a general list of materials to consider; your partner-team-created list of must haves; and, a copy of your arcade game design (purely for reference). Think recycled and inexpensive. The main ingredient of your construction: cardboard and box tape! We have a couple of promised resources for large and medium cardboard boxes, so I am sure we are okay there, and I will supply some box tape (since I have a limited supply, it will probably end up to be one roll per team). However, additional cardboard and tape and tape dispensers are welcome, as well as any other miscellaneous supplies you would like to contribute to our cause. (Box cutters we can borrow would help immensely, for sure!) As we discussed, students, the Discovery Center has some school supplies, i.e. scissors, pencils, markers, construction paper, and the like, so you will not need to be concerned with obtaining these items, unless you want distinct color markers or specialty paper, etc., we do not have on hand. Since student teams are at various stages of planning, there is no set due date for supplies, but “as soon as you are ready and bring them in, the sooner you can begin your construction”J. Please do bring your supplies in some kind of container, i.e. a large bag or box, labeled with your name. We are so excited about helping you bring your imaginings to life! Best,Mr. MayDiscovery Center PBL Teacher Crusie Arcade Parent Letter #1
October 2012
Dear Fourth Grade Parents and Guardians:
I am writing to tell you about an exciting project we are about to do in our Discovery Center.
As you might know, in our Center we are using the teaching method of Project Base Learning, or PBL, to help students learn better. A project motivates students to gain knowledge, and they remember it longer. Projects give students the chance to apply the skills they learn in school to personally relevant and real-world situations. Your child also learns skills in PBL such as how to think critically, solve problems, work in teams, and make presentations. These skills will help students succeed in the future, both in school and in today’s work world. Our Project is called “Crusie Arcade,” our interpretation of The Imagination Foundation’s “Caine’s Arcade Global Cardboard Challenge.” The project’s Driving Question, which focuses our work, is How can we, as Caine has inspired, demonstrate through teamwork our imagination, determination, and passion for creativity and innovation, with our own arcade constructions? Students will be involved in researching on the Internet, interviewing community members, and collaborating and communicating with each other. Your child will be working in a team, guided by me. Upon completion we will invite all lower school students to play their “Crusie Arcade” constructions, thereby modeling and fostering creativity and innovation in their peers as well. Just imagine! For this project, students will be assessed individually on their content knowledge and their collaboration skills. I have attached the rubric we will use to guide the creation of each Crusie Arcade game and assess the students’ work now and in future projects. You may find it helpful in understanding what we are asking students to do, and supporting your child during the project. As parents or guardians, you can discuss the project at home, encouraging your child to think hard and ask questions about the topic. You can also support the project by taking your child on field work to a local arcade, providing expertise, as well as gathering the supplies necessary for construction; more on these opportunities to follow. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about Crusie Arcade! Regards, Mike MayPBL TeacherSt. Paul’s Lower School Discovery Center
February 4, 2012: What Does It Mean to Collaborate?
eBulletin -- What Does it Mean to Collaborate?
One of the goals of the Discovery Center is to support students in their efforts to cooperate and collaborate with others. But what exactly does that mean to a third or fourth grader? Well, according to cooperative learning team The [[#|Crusies]], it means everything for completing projects within the Center, becoming interdependent while at the same time individually accountable. Check out Mari, Jack, Aidan and Dehkira’s demonstration video …
Find out more about other Fourth Grade “Showing Our Team Spirit” videos by visiting our student wikispace pages: See Details and More Pictures by Clicking "Fourth Grade" Class Links.
January 29, 2013: What is a Crusie-Inater?
eBulletin -- What is a Crusie-Inator?
Well, according to Saraj and Dylan’s Crusie-Inator Engineering Design Brief …
The Homework-Eater-Inator One day all the kids in the world cried. They were sad because they got extra homework. They were held captive by a person who made them do homework. Two boys, Dylan and Saraj, decided to build something. They decided to make something called the Homework-Eater-Inator. They used scissors, a pretzel jar, McDonald's cup, and cardboard toilet paper roll. Someone is at the scissors station of the Inator, while someone is at the McDonald's cup station. They put homework paper in, they move the scissors, and the homework gets sliced. They think they solved the problem of extra homework. They will miss the Discovery Center.
Find out more about other Third Grade “Inators” by visiting our student wikispace pages: See Details and More Photos by Clicking "Third Grade" Class Links.
January 22, 2013: What Does "Discovering" Mean?
eBulletin—What Does "Discovering" Mean to Mari, Discoverer Extraordinaire?
What does Discovery mean to me? Discovery to me means living. What I mean by that is that a day never goes by without learning something new. Learning is discovering and discovering is learning. In my picture I am sitting in the Discovery Center listening and learning about what to do with the Voki-Avatar. Mr. May showed us. If no one discovers, no one knows what would happen in life. This is what discovery means to me. Find out more about what we students are discovering by visiting our wikispace pages:
See Details and More Photos by Clicking "Third and Fourth Grade" Class Links.
January 7, 2013: Setting the Stage for Primary Classes Participation
eBulletin—Setting the Stage!
What do the Pancake Man, Tinker Bell, and the Landfill Harmonic have in common? They all are inspiration for faculty and staff planning, setting the stage for our primary student visits to the Discovery Center throughout Spring 2013! You, too, can visit our Discovery Center, via our School Home Page and Lower School Student Wikispace Pages, to virtually experience alongside these budding engineers. We will update the eBulletin periodically about their postings …
December 18, 2012: PBL Student Need to Know
eBulletin—Problem Based Learning – Essential Element: Student Need to Know
Project Based Learning – Essential Element: Student Need to Know (Process over Product) According to the Buck Institute for Education, students are at the center of learning when teachers implement problems through Project Based Learning (PBL). First, a problem or scenario is presented to stimulate student interest. Students work in small groups to investigate the problem. With very young children, the teacher may keep the class as a large group for fact-finding, idea generation and learning needs identification. As the process progresses, ideas are challenged by other group members or by the teacher if necessary. The process is cyclical and repeated several times as new information is learned and ideas have been modified to generate new learning needs. It should be noted that solving the problem is not the most important objective; the power of PBL is found within the learning process itself through student-directed inquiry. Facts and concepts are not taught directly, but integrated within the PBL process. Also integrated within the process is reading, writing, vocabulary and if desired, mathematics, science, engineering, art, and a host of other disciplines. When investigating a PBL scenario, students assume the role of the specialist of a particular field of study. But effective projects are those that engage student interest and motivate them to probe for deeper understanding of core concepts, across a myriad of disciplines. Good projects and the problems they address ask students to formulate ideas or judgments based on facts that may be prior knowledge, information given in the scenario, and logic. The PBL problem-solving process usually includes several steps. The five-step model in the chart below identifies these steps: (1) A problem is presented and read by group member, while another acts as scribe to mark down facts as identified by group; (2) Students discuss what is known (the facts); (3) Students discuss what they think and identify the broad problem (brainstorm their ideas and formulate their objectives and goals); (4) Students identify their learning needs (what they need to learn in order to prove or disprove their ideas); and, (5) Students share research findings with their peers, and then recycle steps (2-4). Our hope for students of the Discovery Center is that we, as facilitators, take on a minimal role when presenting PBL scenarios. We use open-ended questions to foster student metacognitive growth. If necessary, we ask more directed questions like: What is going on here? What do we need to know more about? What is your evidence? “Teacher wait-time” is essential to allow students to process the information and formulate their ideas – they should not be rushed. As students participate in PBL to solve problems over time, they become self-directed learners who are able to ask their own questions, and identify what they need to know to continue their learning. Our entire community, too, can follow along in their learning the PBL problem-sloving process. The Discovery Center Home Page with a link to the Student Wikispace Pages is now up and running. The website is ever-evolving, ever-growing as students post their work throughout the year. Stop by to “virtually see” what they are accomplishing! There are two avenues to approach:
St. Paul’s School >> Academics >> Lower School >> Lower School Curriculum >> Discovery Center >> Discovery Center Wiki Page
eBulletin—Problem Based Learning – Essential Element: Student Reflection and Revision Student reflection is a key ingredient in Project-Based Learning (PBL), according to the Buck Institute for Education, and for good reason. As John Dewey reminded us nearly a century ago, “We do not learn from experience … we learn from reflecting on experience.” Reflection not only makes learning stick at the end of a project but also helps students think about what is working well and what is not during PBL. When students take time to reflect on their progress, they can make revisions or course corrections so that they can achieve better results. Although a critical piece to learning, reflection is often the first thing to go when teachers run out of time on a project or a unit; even though activities that prompt students to look back at what they have learned and accomplished is not just busywork or an unnecessary step, educational experts say. In fact, encouraging students to pause and think about what they are learning and why it is relevant to their lives is “the mind’s strongest glue” for making the connections essential to understanding, regardless of the subject matter. For any Discovery Center activity, if students do not do the reflection the whole thing can be meaningless. For example, students may be thinking, “Okay, we built Crusie Arcade games (or Crusie-inators). It was fun. We got messy, we got gooey, we got cardboard and duct tape bits and pieces all over the floor”. But what does that tell us about real life? What is the connection? We are taking a reflective stance as PBL teachers ending whatever class or project we are doing by pulling it together and asking the kids what they learned. The goal of highlighting reflection in the Center is to encourage students to begin to reflect more frequently and naturally in their day-to-day lives. A variety of methods can be used of course -- from blogs to audio interviews to peer review journals to a few thoughtful questions -- to encourage and capture reflection. But by asking our students to simply reflect on what they have learned could result in superficial answers such as “I had fun.” Instead, asking students more directed questions builds the reflection process. What did you learn? How do you know you learned it? What got in the way of your learning? What helped your learning? How did you feel? Regardless of the technique, in a busy classroom we think the key is setting up an expected structure so that the last few minutes of class is going to be about reflection. Using technology to promote reflection has yet another benefit: students digitally archiving their work, extending the reflection exercise beyond a single project or even a school year. Currently, we are trying to save as much student work as we can through their electronic portfolios (wikispace pages). And we delight in the idea of students coming back ten years from now and finding things they worked on. Imagine if students started documenting in kindergarten and all the way through upper school. Wow! If we just pause to consider the implications – talk about reflection! Really, it all boils down to students taking pride in learning in a new way. And we hope this is part of the work of our reflective PBL students – and their teachers – in our Discovery Center.
December 4, 2012: PBL Student Voice and Choice
eBulletin—December 4, 2012 "Essential Element: Student Voice and Choice"
Problem Based Learning – Essential Element: Student Voice and Choice Student Voice and Choice allows students to make choices, which increases engagement by allowing students to express their learning in their own voice. According to the Buck Institute for Education, “Problem Based Learning (PBL) allows some degree of student voice and choice. Students learn to work independently and take responsibility when they are asked to make choices. The opportunity to make choices, and to express their learning in their own voice, also helps to increase students’ educational engagement”. This element of project-based learning is also key. In terms of making a project feel meaningful to students, the more voice and choice, the better; keeping in mind, teachers should design projects with the extent of student choice that fits their own style and students. Giving students the autonomy to choose their learning product and the opportunity and means to create that product is just one way Student Voice and Choice in PBL leads to student ownership and engagement. Student Voice and Choice leads to options that foster technology literacy, oral communication and creativity — excellent 21st century skills; skills we have addressed in previous eBulletins. But how about Student Voice in Choice in assessing their own work? Educators have continually turned to Howard Gardner and his theory on multiple intelligences as means of providing equity for all students. They have focused on assessments and curriculum that focuses on the student’s personal tastes and abilities. A teacher might provide an assessment product that would be artistic in nature and at the same time hold students accountable for content standards and learning. However, these have never quite ensured equity in terms of assessment of student learning. Why? Because ultimately it is teacher-directed. The teacher is still choosing the method in which students display their learning, even though they may have provided an option that will ensure certain students will flourish. If we want true student construction of knowledge then we must allow for more student voice and choice in their learning. Why shouldn’t it be in the assessment as well? With one St. Paul’s third grade homeroom finishing up its time in the Discovery Center and another about to begin, perhaps we should take pause and evaluate how we are doing in allowing for Student Voice and Choice? How about a rubric? On the limited-choice end of the scale, learners can select what topic to study within a general driving question or choose how to design, create, and present products. As a middle ground, teachers might provide a limited menu of options for creative products to prevent students from becoming overwhelmed by choices. On the “the more, the better” end of the scale, students can decide what products they will create, what resources they will use, and how they will structure their time. Students could even choose a project’s topic and driving question, and how their work will be assessed! Well, of course, “the more, the better” is our aim, our hope, our goal, for all students who visit the Discovery Center. To put it succinctly: We hope to ultimately “get out of their way”! Third Grade Crusie-Inator Project...
November 27, 2012: Waters 3A-B Class Crusie-Inator Video
November 13, 2012: PBL In-depth Inquiry & Driving Questions
eBulletin—Problem Based Learning – Essential Elements: In-depth Inquiry and Driving Questions Placing in depth inquiry learning first!
Exploring the causes and behaviors of our planet’s natural events in order to help people survive natural disasters; detecting, predicting, and warning about hazards to help populations evacuate and/or seek shelter; and, designing atmospheric monitoring devices and specialized weather instruments, even creating devices that trigger smaller hazards in order to prevent larger ones: this is the stuff of real learning! But is this the kind of “stuff” our school children are doing these days? Creative teachers have always placed developing authentic, realistic and first hand experiences followed by creative expression through the arts central to their programs. Important to such teachers is the need to provide opportunities to develop all the innate gifts and talents of their students. Today, notwithstanding the emphasis being imposed by the government on teaching the basics and, along with the conservative nature of many teachers, which may or may not lead to less real in depth inquiry, Problem Based Learning (PBL) makes clear an opportunity not to ignore the basics but rather integrate them or at least make them personally relevant to the learners so as to develop a positive attitude for such areas. According to the Buck Institute for Education, PBL requires In-Depth Inquiry as part of the process of learning and creating something new. Students ask questions, search for answers, and arrive at conclusions, leading them to construct something new: an idea, an interpretation, or a product. Such inquiry is organized around open-ended Driving Questions. This focuses students’ work and deepens their learning by framing important issues, debates, challenges or problems. So it is vital that PBL teachers contribute the skills and knowledge required for students to be able to dig deeply into any content they are studying. It is all matter of emphasis. In depth content will call upon all the isolated skills often being taught out of context (and thus easily forgotten). Through their Discovery Center PBL Hurricane! To the Rescue! experience, fourth grade students will investigate the following Driving Questions:
How can we, as Meteorologists, design and create Discovery Center Weather-Related Instruments that will help prevent or minimize harmful Hurricane Disaster effects on people and property?
How can we, as Emergency Management Specialists, design and create Discovery Center Hurricane Preparatory/Survival Kits and other Relief Outreach Items for Disaster Victims?
How can we, as Marine Engineers, design and create Discovery Center Navigable Rescue Vessels for Hurricane Disaster Victims?
How can we, as Entrepreneurial Journalists, create and publish nnNet, an on-line Discovery Center magazine and Student-Owned-and-Operated-Stockholding Business, to support and share the projects of our Discovery Center?
How can we, as St. Paul’s Discovery Center Kids using all that we have learned through our PBL project, design and create navigable rescue vessels for our Hurricane! To the Rescue! Sailing competition?
Jerome Bruner wrote wisely that teaching was ‘the canny art of intellectual temptation’ and teachers who appreciate this, and the innate curiosity of students, keep their eyes open for ideas with which to tempt their students. They also tap into their students’ interests and concern and seasonal environmental experiences. “Hurricane! To the Rescue!”? Yes, this is the stuff of real learning.
November 6, 2012: PBL Significant Content
eBulletin -- Problem Based Learning – An Essential Element: Significant Content In Problem Based Learning, and even more so in Project Based Learning (PBL), students go through an extended process of inquiry in response to a complex question, problem, or challenge. While allowing for some degree of student “voice and choice,” rigorous projects are carefully planned, managed, and assessed to help students learn key academic content, practice 21st Century Skills, and create high-quality, authentic products & presentations. Another essential element, expressed here and which needs reiteration, is “key academic content”: that which is significant. So what is Significant Content? When creating Discover Center projects, we need to remember that we cannot cover all the academic standards that are required but should instead focus on important concepts and knowledge found from the standards for a class, whether it be Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, or Expressive Language. A self-check rubric is “Does the project focus on teaching students important knowledge and skills derived from standards and key concepts at the heart of various academic subject areas?” That considered, the content should also reflect what the teacher thinks is essential to understand about the project topic. And students should find the content to be significant in terms of their own lives and interests. A project should allow for student centered inquiry into a meaningful question. Through the Discovery Center, we are defining Standards-Focus PBL. According the Buck Institute for Education, standards-focused PBL is designed to acknowledge the importance of standards and evaluation of student learning. Accountability, monitoring, and assessments are up most important to ensure challenging curriculum is developed in the project. This week we are “Setting Sail for a New Adventure in Discovery,” introducing the DC year-long project: Hurricane! To the Rescue! The attached schematic of the project plan will not only give you a general idea of what fourth grade students – and our entire lower school community for that matter – will experience, but it will also provide a breakdown of the PBL elements which do, in fact, foster significant academic content. And that is key!
November 1, 2012: PBL - 21st Century Skill "Integrates Technology Appropriately"
eBulletin -- Problem Based Learning – An Essential Element: 21st Century Skill: Integrates Technology Appropriately
For most young people today, engagement with new digital media is a routine aspect of life. Through computers, mobile phones, and other handheld devices, youth can blog, tweet, participate in social networks like Facebook, play massive multi-player games, use online information sources, and share videos, stories, music, and art they have created. Important skills and knowledge can be gained from suchactivities, but there are also risks. For example, young people may only rarely consider what it means to be an ethical, socially responsible “citizen” on the Internet. Problem-Based Learning can be a catalyst for student growth in and understanding of what it means to be Digital Citizen. Integrating Technology Appropriately and becoming a Digital Citizen for the Buck Institute for Education is emphatic. By understanding human, cultural and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior, students will: advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology; exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity; demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning; and, exhibit leadership for digital citizenship. In the Discovery Center we are encouraging children to think about ethical dimensions of their participation in new media environments. Through role-playing activities and reflective exercises, students are asked to consider the ethical responsibilities of other people, and whether and how they behave ethically themselves online. These issues are raised in relation to five core themes that are highly relevant online: identity, privacy, authorship and ownership, credibility, and participation. Case in point. We teachers know that quite often kids learn best from other kids; and with this in mind, we asked St. Paul’s fifth graders Luca and Stevie to create a video tutorial for the Discovery Center (see link below). Modeling appropriate skills for holding a collaborative conversation, the boys are also sending a clear message to their peers: whether conversing with one another in the same classroom or on the other side of the world, what is ethical and socially responsible needs to be considered. As students engage in technology-rich Discovery Center projects, it is important to model and practice digital citizenship. Explicit instruction, lessons and activities must take place to ensure that students are creating good “digital footprints.” In addition, this is a great theme inspiration for a PBL project. From a technology class to a language arts class, students could make recommendations about digital policy or teach other members of the school community and beyond how to be good digital citizens; and in so doing, they themselves become Leaders in Digital Citizenship. Who knows?
October 17, 2012: A Synergetic Conversation
"What do you mean, we have to work together?!"
Former IZLs Collaborate - A Home-Spun Video by Luca and Stevie:
October 16, 2012: PBL - 21st Centruy Skill "Research & Information Fluency"
eBulletin -- An Essential Element: 21st Century Skill -- Research and Information Fluency
Problem Based Learning – An Essential Element: 21st Century Skill: Research and Information Fluency
Success in the 21st century requires knowing how to learn, for students today will likely have several careers in their lifetime. They must develop strong critical thinking and interpersonal communication skills in order to be successful in an increasingly fluid, interconnected, and complex world. Technology allows for 24/7 access to information, constant social interaction, and easily created and shared digital content. In this setting, educators can leverage technology to create an engaging and personalized environment to meet the emerging educational needs of this generation. No longer does learning have to be one-size-fits-all or confined to the classroom. The opportunities afforded by technology should be used to re-imagine 21st-century education, focusing on preparing students to be learners for life. According to the Buck Institute for Education, the 21st Century Skill of Research and Information Fluency in Problem Based Learning is students applying digital tools and other methods to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students will: plan strategies to guide inquiry; locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media; evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks; and, process data and report results. When we unpack this standard, one of the key words here is “inquiry.” Students are not simply doing research. PBL projects require students to engage in in-depth inquiry on a specific topic through posing questions, researching and interpreting data, and reporting it. However, as students move through this cycle of inquiry, they may find incomplete data, require further information, or make mistakes. This lets students know that revision and reflection are critical to the inquiry process. In addition, it leverages higher-order thinking skills like synthesis and evaluation, which can ensure that PBL projects are stimulating deep learning. In their Discovery Center with synchronized Library sessions, students are using a myriad of digital tools to conduct their research. For example, programs such as Skype, Camtasia, and Screencast-o-matic allow for intimate interaction from a far with experts of interest; distance learning at its best! To gain a greater understanding of nature of arcade/video games as well as the engineering design process they will need to follow in creating their own Crusie Arcade Games and Crusie Blank-inators, students engage Mick Scott, St. Paul’s Director of STEM Initiatives and Upper School Engineering Teacher; Jennifer Schneider, St. Paul’s Network Administrator; and, St. Paul’s fifth graders Noah, Stevie and Luca, “video-gaming aficionados,” who conducted a related research in their fourth grade year. (See below:) Link: Mr. Scott discusses the Engineer Design Process for fourth graders. Click here for an excellent explanation...
Picture: Mrs. Schneider (Reagan’s Mom) instructs third graders in Engineering Design of “Inators”...
October 9, 2012: PBL - 21st Century Skill "Critical Thinking, Problem-Solving & Decision Making"
eBulletin -- An Essential Element: 21st Century Skill -- Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making Problem Based Learning – An Essential Element:21st Century Skill – Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making … As the 21st century gathers momentum, more than ever, higher-order thinking skills, self-regulated learning habits, and problem-solving skills are necessary. This is another focus of the Discovery Center, a place for a student-centered, active learner approach; a problem-based learning approach that “empowers students to conduct research, integrate theory and practice, and apply knowledge and skills to develop a viable solution to a defined problem” – Buck Institute for Education. Critical thinking is the crux! In truth, schools should always teach students critical thinking skills for “sussing out” the quality of information, yet historically schools have had a tendency to fall back on the gatekeeping functions of professional editors and journalists, not to mention of textbook selection committee and librarians, to ensure that the information is generally reliable. Once students enter cyberspace, however, where anyone can post anything, they need skills in evaluating the quality of different sources, how perspectives and interests can color representations, and the likely mechanisms by which misinformation is perpetuated or corrected. In the context argued here is a mode of active engagement, one that encourages experimentation and risk-taking, one that views the process of solving a problem as important as finding the answer, one that offers clearly defined goals and roles that encourage strong identifications and emotional investments. This, we hope for our students in the Discovery Center. According to Buck Institute for Education on 21st Century Skills, sub-skills for Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making are clearly explained. Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and other resources. Students will: identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation; plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project; collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions; and, use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions. So are St. Paul’s students actually doing this; “thinking critically, solving problems, and making decisions” in the Discovery Center? Yes! During the month of October, third graders will demonstrate their interpretation of the problem-solving creativity of Dr. Doofenshmirtz, the ingenious character from Disney’s Phineas and Ferb, whose wacky schemes and contraptions cause all kinds of mayhem; however, our creations will be for the common good! Upon completing their engineering feats, students will present their “Crusie [problem]-inator”contraptions to others of our St. Paul’s community, thereby modeling and fostering critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making in their peers as well. Even Dr. Doofenshmirtz will be impressed, and no doubt will want to duplicate!
October 2, 2012: PBL - 21st Century Skill "Creativity & Innovation"
eBulletin -- An Essential Element: 21st Century Skill – Creativity and Innovation
Problem Based Learning – An Essential Element: 21st Century Skill – Creativity and Innovation …
Another goal of the Discovery Center is to create an environment wherein students realize they can follow their imaginings; where creativity and innovation are encouraged, as the rule and not the exception. But how to do that? Teaching for creativity (there is a difference between teaching creatively and teaching for creativity), where the pedagogy is designed to encourage students to think creatively, we encourage kids to experiment, to innovate, not giving them all the answers but giving them the tools they need to find out what the answers might be or to explore new avenues. Within the particular domain of the Discovery Center, it is perfectly appropriate to say to our students, “We’re interested in new and original ways you can approach these issues.” We believe this is important! So, if creativity and innovation are so important, should we assess them? Whether there could be an individual grade for creativity, that’s a larger question. Certainly giving credit for originality, encouraging it, and giving kids some way of reflecting on whether these new ideas are more effective than existing ideas is a powerful part of pedagogy. But you cannot reduce everything to a number in the end, and we do not think we should. That is part of the problem. The regime of standardized testing has led us all to believe that if you cannot count it, it does not count. Actually, in every creative approach some of the things we are looking for are hard, if not impossible, to quantify. But that does not mean they do not matter. When we hear people say, “Well, of course, you can’t assess creativity,” we think, “You can—just stop and think about it a bit.” According to Buck Institute for Education on 21st Century Skills, sub-skills for both Creativity and Innovation are clearly explained. Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes by applying existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes; by creating original works as a means of personal or group expression; by using models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues; and, by identifying trends and forecast possibilities. How are the students “creating and innovating” in the Discovery Center of late? During the month of October, St. Paul’s fourth graders will kick off their interpretation of The Imagination Foundation’s “Caine’s Arcade Global Cardboard Challenge,” and sometime thereafter invite all lower school students to play their “Crusies Arcade” constructions, thereby modeling and fostering creativity and innovation in their peers as well. Just imagine!
September 25, 2012: PBL - 21st Century Skill "Communication & Collaboration"
eBulletin - "An Essential Element: 21st Century Skill - Communicating and Collaborating"
Problem Based Learning – An Essential Element: 21st Century Skill - Communicating and Collaborating … One of the goals of the Discovery Center is to support students in their efforts to communicate and collaborate with others. But what exactly does that mean to a third or fourth grader? For that matter, what does it mean to us teachers and parents? According to Buck Institute for Education, sub-skills for both Communicating and Collaboration are clearly delineated: To communicate clearly, a student must: Articulate thoughts and ideas effectively using oral, written and nonverbal communication skills in a variety of forms and contexts; Listen effectively to decipher meaning, including knowledge, values, attitudes and intentions; Use communication for a range of purposes (e.g. to inform, instruct, motivate and persuade); Utilize multiple media and technologies, and know how to judge their effectiveness a priori as well as assess their impact; and, Communicate effectively in diverse environments (including multi-lingual). To collaborate with others, a student must: Demonstrate ability to work effectively and respectfully with diverse teams; Exercise flexibility and willingness to be helpful in making necessary compromises to accomplish a common goal; and, Assume shared responsibility for collaborative work, and value the individual contributions made by each team member. Okay. Seems pretty straight forward, though perhaps a little “heady” for the students, and even for some of us adults! So how do we engage the children who enter the Discovery Center in captivating ways so to support them in understanding and developing these skills? Two ways: Wiki-spaces and avatars! And here are a couple of very good friends who have collaborated with each other in order to communicate clearly how to use these tools, as well as provide an overview of the problem based learning process, as they did for the third and fourth grade “discoverers extraordinaire” this past week. Max, Discovery Center Mascot: http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=6548358&height=267&width=200 From Out of this World - Our Good Friend “Disco-very”: http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=6629647&height=267&width=200
September 18, 2012: DC - PBL = "A World of Opportunity"
eBulletin - A “World of Opportunity”
The Discovery Center: A “World of Opportunity” through Problem Based Learning?
Problem-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered pedagogy in which children learn about a subject in the context of complex, and realistic problems. The goals of PBL are to help students develop flexible knowledge, effective problem solving skills, self-directed learning, effective collaboration skills and intrinsic motivation. Working in groups, students identify what they already know, what they need to know, and how and where to access new information that may lead to resolution of the problem. The role of the instructor (known as the PBL teacher) is that of facilitator of learning who provides appropriate support of the process, modeling of the process, and monitoring of learning. In essence, PBL is an opportunity for students to take charge of their learning. To help expound the potential of the Discovery Center this past week, an inspirational video was shown to the fourth graders during class as well as to the entire student body at assembly – Caine’s Arcade. Caine, a nine-year-old boy, who through his imagination, determination, passion for creativity, and a cardboard box, has become known the world over; and, he brings a hopeful message for our St. Paul’s students: If a little boy of East LA with seemingly limited opportunity can go as far as his dreams will carry him, just think what you can accomplish with the opportunities provided to you by your parents and teachers! For our St. Paul’s students who enter through the door of the Discovery Center, may a cardboard box illuminate a “World of Opportunity”…
September 17, 2012: "Out of This World Avatars"
Creating Student Avatars - Communication from Out of This World What does Disco-very have to say?
Hello, Students! I am Disco-very, a close friend of Mr. May. He has asked me to instruct you on how to create your very own avatar for the Discovery Center's Wiki-space-page. It is quite simple really. Just follow the steps as shown on the Voki Page. Play around with the options provided, but when you are finished, make sure you save your creation for the Wiki space. Live long and prosper! (By the way, that's a greeting from a very old friend of mine -- his name is Spock. Do you know him?) Well, have fun with your discoveries in problem based learning. This is Disco-very signing off!
September 11-12, 2012: Back to School Night "PBL Presentation"
Back to School Night “Discovery Center – PBL” Presentation
How Can I Explain PBL to Parents and Others in Our Community?
In preparing for this evening, I asked myself, How can I explain succinctly the effectiveness of Problem Based Learning to parents and others of our St. Paul’s community, and in about two or three minutes? For PBL may be very different from the instruction that many of us experienced in our own schooling. Furthermore, in our current standards and testing culture, some parents and community members may have concerns about teachers and schools deviating from more traditional methods of instruction. Therefore, showing is probably better the telling. Researchers have consistently found that parents, administrators, trustee members, and community members are impressed when they learn more about PBL, particularly if they have the opportunity to observe students at work. Well, with the design of our new Discovery Center, observation is definitely a continual possibility! Also encouraging stakeholders to be involved in PBL as guest speakers with expertise on the problem topic, or as members of a panel to which students present their solutions, can be powerful ways to engender community understanding and support for PBL; and we plan to do just that – so be ready! Moreover, educators who encourage their charges to use the PBL approach to learning are impressed with the seriousness with which students approach a problem, with their knowledge, and with the entire philosophy; in fact, we believe that in a perfect world all K–12 schools and undergraduate institutions should be doing more of this type of instruction to prepare students for their eventual place in an information-driven, problem-centered, collaborative work world. Though we cannot control what other institutions do, we can have an impact on how children learn here at St. Paul’s. And we believe Problem Based Learning is one way to go. Well, I am not sure I am still within my time limit; but here is someone I know can do it in sixty seconds, as he did when he spoke to the students about the Center and PBL this past week … [show Max the Avatar]. (The students will be creating their own avatars and wiki-spaces to communicate their discoveries with the rest of our community.) Let me conclude with this idea … If you just take away with you this evening just a few simple sentences that may help you better understand Problem Based Learning, I will have done my job:
PBL makes school learning more like real-world learning.
PBL helps students learn the same content—just in a different way.
Besides learning content, PBL has additional valuable components like helping learners collaborate, problem-solve, make presentations, and talk with experts—many of the things they'll be doing as adults.
PBL motivates many students to dig deeper and get ‘hooked’ into issues; they may actually want to go to the library or go online to get more information!
Think about the times in your life when you have really learned something. Often this learning is related to a problem you were facing. The PBL approach encourages students to learn because they want or need to solve a problem, too.
Students don't ask, ‘Why do I need to know this?’ in PBL. The answer is clear: They need to know it to solve the problem.
Enjoy your evening, and if you have any questions, I would be happy to get together … anytime. Thank you.
September 10, 2012: "Caine's Arcade - Marble Maze Team Challenge"
Crusie Marble Maze - Team Challenge
Based on the inspirational video, "Caine's Arcade," about a young boy of East LA who created a life-size arcade out of his own imagination, and cardboard. His creativity, determination, and overall spitirt is truly remarkable. The StP Crusies were indeed impressed! The fourth graders completed yet another small group challenge designing and implementing an arcade game (marble maze) with limited resources and time. Caine's Arcade:
Crusie Arcade - Marble Maze Small Group Challenge:
Using only the materials provided in your group’s container: one cardboard box; one piece of poster board, three large index cards, one empty toilet roll tube, one pair scissors, 1.5 meters of masking tape, and one marble, construct an arcade maze-game so that your marble drops from a minimum height of 30 cm (12 inches) to the ground/surface in the longest amount of time possible. Minimum time must be greater than 3 seconds.
September 4, 2012: Voki Avatars
Communicating and Collaborating - Learning about Voki Avatars
What does Max the Dog, our macot, have to say about the Discovery Center?
The New Lower School Discovery Center according to Max:
Hello, Students! Welcome to St. Paul’s School’s Discovery Center. Wolf! My name is Max, Mr. May’s Yellow Lab, and I am the official mascot for the Center. Ruff! Mr. May has asked me to share with you a little about what goes on in the Center, so here goes: You will learn new and exciting things in a really cool way called Problem Based Learning. Or PBL! What is it? Glad you asked! Wolf! Let me see if I can make it easy. You know. In kid lingo. It’s about solving problems that are important to you. Real-life stuff. And that's awesome. PBL really is F U N! So go for it! Good-day, Mates.
September 4, 2012: Discovery Center: An Invitation
Webmaster & eBulletin —An invitaion
Though we have eyes, we cannot see. There are three things that we may be. What are we? But just one of us three will be; the focus of our first PBL in Discovery. Name me and you are done. So can you guess which one? This riddle was recently sent to our fourth graders in anticipation of setting sail for a new adventure in discovery. Well, the time is here! After nearly a year of orchestrated efforts by the administration, faculty, and staff, another wonderful initiative has come to fruition at St. Paul’s: The Lower School Discovery Center; an educational space specifically dedicated to the exploration of technology, math, science and expressive language using a problem-based learning (PBL) approach. What is PBL? In problem-based learning students go through an extended process of inquiry in response to a complex question, problem, or challenge. While allowing for student "voice and choice," rigorous projects are carefully planned, managed, and assessed to help students learn key academic content, practice 21st Century Skills (such as collaboration, communication & critical thinking), and create high-quality, authentic products & presentations. And what do you think our students hope to experience in the Discovery Center? Much(!) – all highly motivating, and to the extent of their collective imaginations. When Zach Hill first saw the completed Center, he was visibly thrilled; hardly containing himself, he asked, “Mr. May, is that your new classroom?” To which I replied, “No, it is yours, and what will you make of it?” Come watch Zack and his classmates discover!
August 28, 2012: First Week - "Where Do I Sit?"
Welcome to the Discovery Center: "Where do I Sit?" Team Challenge
“Where do I sit?” It’s the universal first question at the top of students’ minds as they cross the threshold of a classroom on the first day of class. By engaging students in seating challenges, a positive collaborative tone is immediately set. And much information is gained about how each class will function – information that might otherwise take weeks to learn. So on their first day in the Discovery Center, students determined where they will sit based on team problem-solving activities. These activities provided baseline data about class chemistry, learning styles, and students’ personalities. The approach required students to demonstrate proactivity, collaboration, resourcefulness, and interdependence. And they experienced their teacher’s expectations firsthand. In return, students learned to expect their teacher to be prepared, organized, and supportive – as opposed to being authoritative and having all the answers. During one of the more complicated activities, students were allowed to discuss instructions with their tablemates, for they needed to fully understand what to do before leaving their tables and wrestle collectively the solution – in complete silence. The first table group predictably jumped too quickly and was obviously struggling. Ryan Kness, witnessing this from the second group still seated but readying to join the first, dramatically slammed his hand down on the table and standing on a rung of his stool so he could be heard and seen, declared, “I am still at my table and so I can talk!” He then directed the entire class until the challenge was completed, and in record time. I laughed uncontrollably (the only time I interjected) to celebrate his out-of-the-box thinking while remaining within the parameters of the conundrum, “Bravo!” Needless to say, Ryan beamed with pride. Now that is what problem based learning is all about!
August 27, 2012: New Parent DC Talk - "It's Here!"
A Talk with New Parents about the Discovery Center Well, the time is here! After nearly a year of orchestrated efforts by the administration, faculty, and staff, another wonderful initiative has come to fruition at St. Paul’s: The Lower School Discovery Center; an educational space specifically dedicated to the exploration of technology, math, science and expressive language using a problem-based learning (PBL) approach. What is PBL? In problem-based learning students go through an extended process of inquiry in response to a complex question, problem, or challenge. While allowing for student "voice and choice," rigorous projects are carefully planned, managed, and assessed to help students learn key academic content, practice 21st Century Skills (such as collaboration, communication & critical thinking), and create high-quality, authentic products & presentations.
August 20, 2012: A Teacher's Reflection -- Setting Sights for a New Horizon
A Teacher’s Reflection: "What is in Our Students’ Best Interest?" I was asked to keep a journal chronicling the inaugural year of the Discovery Center. We expanded the idea to a Classroom Blog and Student Wikispace Pages! So, here goes ... This is the first entry: We are asked to think about this a lot as educators, but what does it mean? Project Based Learning sums it up really well, that our students’ best interest is what we do in order to allow our students to be creative and explore boundaries; to tap into their prior knowledge; to express their culture and build on their strengths; and to validate their passions. As in our Independent Studies Lab, students look at their learning in a new way. Students also build trust between each other and their teachers because they are given a voice in their learning. What will be different with the creation of our Lower School Discovery Center is that this kind of experience will be available to many more children; very exciting! And, through Project Based Learning we teachers are put in a place of learning right alongside our students; and that is in our best interest, too."
Mike May
"Captain Discovery" aka Mr. May
May 10, 2012: Lower School Preview Night
St. Paul's Lower School Preview Night The New Lower School Discovery Center - Prezi Presentation to Parents, Spring 2012:
St. Paul's Lower School11152 Falls RoadBrooklandville Maryland 21022mmay@stpaulsschool.org410.825.4400 x 2181
Welcome to the StP Discovery Center Wiki-Space!
Our Discovery "Field Journal"
Thank you for visiting our Discovery Center Blog and Student Wiki-Space Pages. Below is a log of our students' journey in the Discovery Center. The Table of Contents listing on the right can guide you to any particular topic of interest, whereas the Class/Student Links on the left can connect you to individual student pages by selecting the appropriate teacher-class section. Students have thoroughly enjoyed their investigations throughout the year, as evident by their postings; creativity and innovation along with thoughtful reflections through collaboration abound. We hope you enjoy observing virtually their pathways to Discovery!
Mr. MayProblem Based LearningThe Discovery Center at St. Paul's Lower School
The St. Paul's Discovery Center in the Lower School: Pathway to Discovery
Table of Contents
June 12, 2013: A Teacher's Reflection -- A Year in Review
A Teacher’s Reflection
“Project [Problem] Based Learning: A Means for Liberating Many Learners."
Project [Problem] based learning is not just a methodology or set of practices, it is a means for liberating many learners. A student in my class, I will call him “Buddy”, is a delightful and resilient young person with an incredible sense of humor, plenty of enthusiasm, and an eagerness to learn. Buddy never stops moving and even when sitting still, his whole person seems to cheerfully vibrate. He is an energetic class contributor and frequently asks terrific deep questions about what we are covering, often with tongue in cheek, but gets distracted before the group is done discussing and exploring potential answers. In fact, when it comes to small group collaboration, Buddy seems to take pride in being the perpetual iconoclast. Buddy is a compulsive pencil tapper, chatter, and stool-tipper who frequently takes the longest possible route to the restroom on his half dozen or so daily trips. Like a shark, if Buddy isn’t moving, something isn’t quite right.
For the concluding weeks of school, our Discovery Center fourth grade group had been researching marine engineering, including various boat designs, a vehicle for determining the Archimedes principle when constructing cardboard boats for a collaborative challenge of Saint Alcuin proportion. And after making small paper boats in Science class and researching a variety of historic boat models at the Library, in small groups the kids moved on to designing and building life-size units for our Hurricane! To the Rescue! Cardboard Boat Regatta. When Buddy came into the classroom one day during construction week carrying a large can of gray acrylic paint with an equally large brush, I started to sweat. Getting the other groups started, I anxiously glued myself to Buddy and his crew. Giving a squirrelly kid a task involving painting, let alone handling valuable tools and limited supplies for building? What was I thinking? With many apocryphal stories and urban legends of Chem lab explosions and woodshop tragedies (not to mention my own experience with painting as a boy his age – but that’s a story for another time), swirling around in my mind, I watched the group at work.
What unfolded over the course of construction was both informative and gratifying. As soon as the materials hit his palms, Buddy showed a level of comfort I had never observed before and he began directing his teammates through interpreting the construction diagrams, triple checking and accurately measuring cardboard to be cut, and later refining the design with stabilizers, additional all-weather duct tape, and several coats of paint, to increase the sea-worthiness of the craft. On this authentic and very tangible challenge Buddy was a leader, relating what he had been researching, (and not always with complete or consistent engagement) to the physical actualization of his group’s vessel.
A few days after our culminating presentation, the race, I wandered in to Buddy’s math class and saw him, as usual, cruising around the room and checking out the scene. Before I could bark at him and corral him back to his table, I heard another student call out, “Buddy, when you’re done over there, can you help me with my problem?” I then realized that the class was working on a set of exercises related to the boating competition and Buddy, a competent but never extraordinary math student, was finished with his work and very capably assisting other students.
Project [Problem] based learning requires a deeper degree of teacher planning and trust, but the payoff can be huge, case in point – Buddy.
It has been a good year -- for Buddy, for his peers, and for his teacher!
June 3, 2013: Hurricane! To the Rescue! Cardboard Boat Challenge
Hurricane! To the Rescue! Part 2St. Paul’s Lower School Discovery Center – Cardboard Boat ChallengeProject [Problem] Based Learning CulminationSpring 2013
Scenario:
Hurricane! The storm is here! You have already saved the day – your team was able to get most of the supplies to Crab Island before the storm washed away the dock. However, the storm also destroyed all the boats. Suddenly, your team receives distress call from another nearby island, St. Alcuin: an archaeologist and her two apprentices are stranded. As this is a very low-lying island, the storm surge will undoubtedly carry away everything, including these poor people. But wait, there is more. The archaeologist has made two incredible discoveries – amazing throwbacks from another era: "Sock Creatures". The fruition of a lifetime of work, the archaeological team states emphatically it will not leave the island without their discovered artifacts. There is no one near to rescue her, the students, or their precious cargo. Time is of the essence! It is up to you. But remember, you have no boat. One of your friends is also an apprentice to a master boat builder, and he thinks your team can quickly build a make-shift boat with the left-over supplies not taken to Crab Island. With this wondrous craft you know you can complete your new mission: Hurricane! To the Rescue!
Problem:
How can fourth graders, as St. Paul’s Discovery Center “Aspiring Marine Engineers and Emergency Management Specialists” and using all that they have learned through their PBL project, design and create navigable rescue vessels for the Hurricane! To the Rescue! Cardboard Boat Challenge?
Culminating Challenge:
One adult and two children are stranded on an island. There are also two precious archaeological discoveries (cargoes) in their possession. A hurricane storm surge will eventually swamp the island, and everyone and everything on it will be lost. The only way to get off the island and to safety is by a makeshift boat created by a team of incredible, quick-thinking marine engineers and emergency management specialists (first responders). However, and this is very important to know, realizing the limitations of the craft through consideration of its buoyancy, displacement, and passenger-cargo weight, the team realizes the boat can only carry at one time either “one adult with or without one cargo” or “two children and no cargo”. So just one adult of your team must volunteer to take the boat to the island – Hurricane! To the Rescue!
Building Rules:
Competition Rules:
Master Boat Builder Mr. James Vitale Guides Aspiring Marine Engineers:
Behind the Scenes with Mr. Scott Winn:
Students - Always at the Forefront
Their Teams, Their Boats and Their Boat Races at Their Fourth Grade Annual Swim Party - Slideshow:
Hurricane! To the Rescue! Boat Races
Preliminary Homeroom Heats: Will They Sink or Float? And What's With These Oars? - Video
The Discovery Center "Hurricane! To the Rescue!" Challenge Race - Video
The Finale: The Pirate Race - Videos
Competition Winners
I. Homeroom First Place Awards
(The first boat to cross the finish line in each heat, if need, will be awarded a prize.)
A. The Boat Buster (Andrews)
B. The Mustache (Heidelbach)
C. The Watermelon (Koska)
II. St. Paul’s Discovery “Hurricane” Award
(In the Final, the first boat to complete the challenge accurately.)
The Boat Buster (Andrews)
III. Students-Choice Award
(The best design as chosen by the attendees of the race.)
The Electric Fire (Heidelbach)
Runners Up:The S.S. Discoverer
The Death Raft
IV. Titanic Award
(Awarded to the most entertaining / dramatic sinking as chosen by our judges.)
The Death Raft (Andrews)
V. Pirate Award!
(All non-sunk boats on deck race for a no-holds-bar finish.)
A. The Z.C.E.S. (Andrews)
B. The Shark (Heidelbach)
C. The S.S. Tiger (Koska)
VI. Flotation Award
(All teams receive awards for building and floating their boats!)
May 28, 2013 : Super Bugs are flying, crawling all over the Discovery Center!
eBulletin -- Super Bugs are flying, crawling all over the Discovery Center?
Super Bugs are flying, crawling all over the Discovery Center? Following up on their amazzzzzing insect research and presentation, and throughout the month of May, first graders visited the Center to learn how Honey Bees are being trained to solve human problems; they are actually being trained to take the place of sniffer dogs. It is true – it is amazzzzing. They are truly super heroes – they are Super Bugs! Check out the sniffer bee videos on their class wikispace pages:
After a discussion about engineers, those who use knowledge and skills and imagination and creativity to solve all sorts of problems, these aspiring engineers then created their own Super Bugs! Already understanding characteristics that animals (especially insects) can use to help them hunt, hide, or attract a mate, students imagined other kinds of adaptations; and using this new-found knowledge, they completed an assignment to use creative thinking skills to design super insects. Ones that would help them solve their own problems. Wait! Can that insect really do your homework?!
April 29, 2013: Second Graders Make Recycled Global Instruments?
eBulletin -- Second Graders visit the Discovery Center!
LandFillHarmonic
Making recycled global musical instruments?! – In Music class? – In Science class? – In IPC Homeroom? No. – In the Discovery Center. And what a Design Thinking Challenge it was – with problem solving of global proportions! Utilizing the process for design engineering; core curricula knowledge and skills from all these; and, their creativity; during the month of April second grade students made global-multicultural musical instruments from recycled materials, as inspired by the “Land-Fill-Harmonic” Orchestra. Students learned how people around the world make music. In some really amazing, beautiful, and diverse ways! People have become really creative in making and remaking instruments – often with the coolest recycled materials. And so did these students. Take a peek at their inspiration as well as their original creations:
March 26, 2013: Prefirst and Kindergarten Challenge
eBulletin -- We Have a Problem!
We have a problem: The Gingerbread Man is on the loose and is going to end up eaten! This calls for an engineering design solution, and the pre-first and kindergarten students are just the ones to provide it. During the month of February, these aspiring engineers created traps to rescue their class-designed gingerbread men from such a fait … well, almost! Take a peek at their wikispace (blog) page by following the link below:
“The Cookie Blues”
See Details and More Pictures by Clicking "Kindergarten-PreFirst" Class Link.
February 17, 2013: Crusie Arcade Project
Crusie Arcade Gaming Week
Teacher and Parent Examination of Games
Crusie Arcade Parent Letter #3
January 17, 2013
Dear 4th Grade Discovery Center Students and Parents:
Well, we are finally wrapping up our Crusie Arcade PBL – and what an experience it has been! It is now time to present our creations to the larger St. Paul’s Lower School community.
The fourth graders are pleased to invite students, parents, faculty, and administration and staff to “drop by” the Discovery Center sometime during our designated Crusie Arcade Gaming Week, February 4-8. The attached schedule is when each class – consisting of eight students; four game partner teams – will be presenting its particular arcade games (two opportunities throughout the week). No RSVP necessary.
Parents are of course encouraged to visit during their child’s presentation times, but certainly are welcome to stop in at other times to see other games as well.
Lower school homerooms with their teachers and the administration and staff are invited to visit as their schedules permit; and we would appreciate they rsvp so to make sure all students have a chance to play; and all fourth graders, present.
Please know the children are so very pleased with their work and are anxious to share this stage of the engineering design process: “Try It Out”. Bravo to them for their efforts!
Best,
Mr. May
PBL Teacher - Discovery Center
Crusie Arcade Parent Letter #2
October 29, 2012
Dear 4th Grade Discovery Center Students (and Parents):
Congratulations on completing the engineering research and orthographic concept design for your Crusie Arcade game. It is now time to collect materials for its construction! Attached are a few items that will assist you in your hunt: a general list of materials to consider; your partner-team-created list of must haves; and, a copy of your arcade game design (purely for reference). Think recycled and inexpensive.
The main ingredient of your construction: cardboard and box tape! We have a couple of promised resources for large and medium cardboard boxes, so I am sure we are okay there, and I will supply some box tape (since I have a limited supply, it will probably end up to be one roll per team). However, additional cardboard and tape and tape dispensers are welcome, as well as any other miscellaneous supplies you would like to contribute to our cause. (Box cutters we can borrow would help immensely, for sure!)
As we discussed, students, the Discovery Center has some school supplies, i.e. scissors, pencils, markers, construction paper, and the like, so you will not need to be concerned with obtaining these items, unless you want distinct color markers or specialty paper, etc., we do not have on hand.
Since student teams are at various stages of planning, there is no set due date for supplies, but “as soon as you are ready and bring them in, the sooner you can begin your construction”J. Please do bring your supplies in some kind of container, i.e. a large bag or box, labeled with your name.
We are so excited about helping you bring your imaginings to life!
Best,Mr. MayDiscovery Center PBL Teacher
Crusie Arcade Parent Letter #1
October 2012
Dear Fourth Grade Parents and Guardians:
I am writing to tell you about an exciting project we are about to do in our Discovery Center.
As you might know, in our Center we are using the teaching method of Project Base Learning, or PBL, to help students learn better. A project motivates students to gain knowledge, and they remember it longer. Projects give students the chance to apply the skills they learn in school to personally relevant and real-world situations. Your child also learns skills in PBL such as how to think critically, solve problems, work in teams, and make presentations. These skills will help students succeed in the future, both in school and in today’s work world.
Our Project is called “Crusie Arcade,” our interpretation of The Imagination Foundation’s “Caine’s Arcade Global Cardboard Challenge.” The project’s Driving Question, which focuses our work, is How can we, as Caine has inspired, demonstrate through teamwork our imagination, determination, and passion for creativity and innovation, with our own arcade constructions? Students will be involved in researching on the Internet, interviewing community members, and collaborating and communicating with each other. Your child will be working in a team, guided by me. Upon completion we will invite all lower school students to play their “Crusie Arcade” constructions, thereby modeling and fostering creativity and innovation in their peers as well. Just imagine!
For this project, students will be assessed individually on their content knowledge and their collaboration skills. I have attached the rubric we will use to guide the creation of each Crusie Arcade game and assess the students’ work now and in future projects. You may find it helpful in understanding what we are asking students to do, and supporting your child during the project.
As parents or guardians, you can discuss the project at home, encouraging your child to think hard and ask questions about the topic. You can also support the project by taking your child on field work to a local arcade, providing expertise, as well as gathering the supplies necessary for construction; more on these opportunities to follow.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about Crusie Arcade!
Regards,
Mike MayPBL TeacherSt. Paul’s Lower School Discovery Center
February 4, 2012: What Does It Mean to Collaborate?
eBulletin -- What Does it Mean to Collaborate?
One of the goals of the Discovery Center is to support students in their efforts to cooperate and collaborate with others. But what exactly does that mean to a third or fourth grader? Well, according to cooperative learning team The [[#|Crusies]], it means everything for completing projects within the Center, becoming interdependent while at the same time individually accountable. Check out Mari, Jack, Aidan and Dehkira’s demonstration video …
Find out more about other Fourth Grade “Showing Our Team Spirit” videos by visiting our student wikispace pages:
See Details and More Pictures by Clicking "Fourth Grade" Class Links.
January 29, 2013: What is a Crusie-Inater?
eBulletin -- What is a Crusie-Inator?
Well, according to Saraj and Dylan’s Crusie-Inator Engineering Design Brief …
The Homework-Eater-Inator
One day all the kids in the world cried. They were sad because they got extra homework. They were held captive by a person who made them do homework. Two boys, Dylan and Saraj, decided to build something. They decided to make something called the Homework-Eater-Inator. They used scissors, a pretzel jar, McDonald's cup, and cardboard toilet paper roll. Someone is at the scissors station of the Inator, while someone is at the McDonald's cup station. They put homework paper in, they move the scissors, and the homework gets sliced. They think they solved the problem of extra homework. They will miss the Discovery Center.
Find out more about other Third Grade “Inators” by visiting our student wikispace pages:
See Details and More Photos by Clicking "Third Grade" Class Links.
January 22, 2013: What Does "Discovering" Mean?
eBulletin—What Does "Discovering" Mean to Mari, Discoverer Extraordinaire?
What does Discovery mean to me? Discovery to me means living. What I mean by that is that a day never goes by without learning something new. Learning is discovering and discovering is learning. In my picture I am sitting in the Discovery Center listening and learning about what to do with the Voki-Avatar. Mr. May showed us. If no one discovers, no one knows what would happen in life. This is what discovery means to me.
Find out more about what we students are discovering by visiting our wikispace pages:
See Details and More Photos by Clicking "Third and Fourth Grade" Class Links.
January 7, 2013: Setting the Stage for Primary Classes Participation
eBulletin—Setting the Stage!
What do the Pancake Man, Tinker Bell, and the Landfill Harmonic have in common? They all are inspiration for faculty and staff planning, setting the stage for our primary student visits to the Discovery Center throughout Spring 2013! You, too, can visit our Discovery Center, via our School Home Page and Lower School Student Wikispace Pages, to virtually experience alongside these budding engineers. We will update the eBulletin periodically about their postings …
December 18, 2012: PBL Student Need to Know
eBulletin—Problem Based Learning – Essential Element: Student Need to Know
Project Based Learning – Essential Element: Student Need to Know (Process over Product)
According to the Buck Institute for Education, students are at the center of learning when teachers implement problems through Project Based Learning (PBL). First, a problem or scenario is presented to stimulate student interest. Students work in small groups to investigate the problem. With very young children, the teacher may keep the class as a large group for fact-finding, idea generation and learning needs identification. As the process progresses, ideas are challenged by other group members or by the teacher if necessary. The process is cyclical and repeated several times as new information is learned and ideas have been modified to generate new learning needs. It should be noted that solving the problem is not the most important objective; the power of PBL is found within the learning process itself through student-directed inquiry. Facts and concepts are not taught directly, but integrated within the PBL process. Also integrated within the process is reading, writing, vocabulary and if desired, mathematics, science, engineering, art, and a host of other disciplines.
When investigating a PBL scenario, students assume the role of the specialist of a particular field of study. But effective projects are those that engage student interest and motivate them to probe for deeper understanding of core concepts, across a myriad of disciplines. Good projects and the problems they address ask students to formulate ideas or judgments based on facts that may be prior knowledge, information given in the scenario, and logic. The PBL problem-solving process usually includes several steps.
The five-step model in the chart below identifies these steps: (1) A problem is presented and read by group member, while another acts as scribe to mark down facts as identified by group; (2) Students discuss what is known (the facts); (3) Students discuss what they think and identify the broad problem (brainstorm their ideas and formulate their objectives and goals); (4) Students identify their learning needs (what they need to learn in order to prove or disprove their ideas); and, (5) Students share research findings with their peers, and then recycle steps (2-4).
Our hope for students of the Discovery Center is that we, as facilitators, take on a minimal role when presenting PBL scenarios. We use open-ended questions to foster student metacognitive growth. If necessary, we ask more directed questions like: What is going on here? What do we need to know more about? What is your evidence? “Teacher wait-time” is essential to allow students to process the information and formulate their ideas – they should not be rushed. As students participate in PBL to solve problems over time, they become self-directed learners who are able to ask their own questions, and identify what they need to know to continue their learning.
Our entire community, too, can follow along in their learning the PBL problem-sloving process. The Discovery Center Home Page with a link to the Student Wikispace Pages is now up and running. The website is ever-evolving, ever-growing as students post their work throughout the year. Stop by to “virtually see” what they are accomplishing! There are two avenues to approach:
St. Paul’s School >> Academics >> Lower School >> Lower School Curriculum >> Discovery Center >> Discovery Center Wiki Page
Direct link directly to the Discovery Center Page: **http://www.stpaulsschool.org/page.cfm?p=3405** (Wikispace link at bottom)
December 11, 2012: PBL Reflection and Revision
eBulletin—Problem Based Learning – Essential Element: Student Reflection and Revision
Student reflection is a key ingredient in Project-Based Learning (PBL), according to the Buck Institute for Education, and for good reason. As John Dewey reminded us nearly a century ago, “We do not learn from experience … we learn from reflecting on experience.” Reflection not only makes learning stick at the end of a project but also helps students think about what is working well and what is not during PBL. When students take time to reflect on their progress, they can make revisions or course corrections so that they can achieve better results.
Although a critical piece to learning, reflection is often the first thing to go when teachers run out of time on a project or a unit; even though activities that prompt students to look back at what they have learned and accomplished is not just busywork or an unnecessary step, educational experts say. In fact, encouraging students to pause and think about what they are learning and why it is relevant to their lives is “the mind’s strongest glue” for making the connections essential to understanding, regardless of the subject matter.
For any Discovery Center activity, if students do not do the reflection the whole thing can be meaningless. For example, students may be thinking, “Okay, we built Crusie Arcade games (or Crusie-inators). It was fun. We got messy, we got gooey, we got cardboard and duct tape bits and pieces all over the floor”. But what does that tell us about real life? What is the connection? We are taking a reflective stance as PBL teachers ending whatever class or project we are doing by pulling it together and asking the kids what they learned.
The goal of highlighting reflection in the Center is to encourage students to begin to reflect more frequently and naturally in their day-to-day lives. A variety of methods can be used of course -- from blogs to audio interviews to peer review journals to a few thoughtful questions -- to encourage and capture reflection. But by asking our students to simply reflect on what they have learned could result in superficial answers such as “I had fun.” Instead, asking students more directed questions builds the reflection process. What did you learn? How do you know you learned it? What got in the way of your learning? What helped your learning? How did you feel? Regardless of the technique, in a busy classroom we think the key is setting up an expected structure so that the last few minutes of class is going to be about reflection.
Using technology to promote reflection has yet another benefit: students digitally archiving their work, extending the reflection exercise beyond a single project or even a school year. Currently, we are trying to save as much student work as we can through their electronic portfolios (wikispace pages). And we delight in the idea of students coming back ten years from now and finding things they worked on. Imagine if students started documenting in kindergarten and all the way through upper school. Wow! If we just pause to consider the implications – talk about reflection! Really, it all boils down to students taking pride in learning in a new way. And we hope this is part of the work of our reflective PBL students – and their teachers – in our Discovery Center.
December 4, 2012: PBL Student Voice and Choice
eBulletin—December 4, 2012 "Essential Element: Student Voice and Choice"
Problem Based Learning – Essential Element: Student Voice and Choice
Student Voice and Choice allows students to make choices, which increases engagement by allowing students to express their learning in their own voice. According to the Buck Institute for Education, “Problem Based Learning (PBL) allows some degree of student voice and choice. Students learn to work independently and take responsibility when they are asked to make choices. The opportunity to make choices, and to express their learning in their own voice, also helps to increase students’ educational engagement”.
This element of project-based learning is also key. In terms of making a project feel meaningful to students, the more voice and choice, the better; keeping in mind, teachers should design projects with the extent of student choice that fits their own style and students.
Giving students the autonomy to choose their learning product and the opportunity and means to create that product is just one way Student Voice and Choice in PBL leads to student ownership and engagement. Student Voice and Choice leads to options that foster technology literacy, oral communication and creativity — excellent 21st century skills; skills we have addressed in previous eBulletins. But how about Student Voice in Choice in assessing their own work?
Educators have continually turned to Howard Gardner and his theory on multiple intelligences as means of providing equity for all students. They have focused on assessments and curriculum that focuses on the student’s personal tastes and abilities. A teacher might provide an assessment product that would be artistic in nature and at the same time hold students accountable for content standards and learning.
However, these have never quite ensured equity in terms of assessment of student learning. Why? Because ultimately it is teacher-directed. The teacher is still choosing the method in which students display their learning, even though they may have provided an option that will ensure certain students will flourish. If we want true student construction of knowledge then we must allow for more student voice and choice in their learning. Why shouldn’t it be in the assessment as well?
With one St. Paul’s third grade homeroom finishing up its time in the Discovery Center and another about to begin, perhaps we should take pause and evaluate how we are doing in allowing for Student Voice and Choice? How about a rubric? On the limited-choice end of the scale, learners can select what topic to study within a general driving question or choose how to design, create, and present products. As a middle ground, teachers might provide a limited menu of options for creative products to prevent students from becoming overwhelmed by choices. On the “the more, the better” end of the scale, students can decide what products they will create, what resources they will use, and how they will structure their time. Students could even choose a project’s topic and driving question, and how their work will be assessed!
Well, of course, “the more, the better” is our aim, our hope, our goal, for all students who visit the Discovery Center. To put it succinctly: We hope to ultimately “get out of their way”!
Third Grade Crusie-Inator Project...
November 27, 2012: Waters 3A-B Class Crusie-Inator Video
November 13, 2012: PBL In-depth Inquiry & Driving Questions
eBulletin—Problem Based Learning – Essential Elements: In-depth Inquiry and Driving Questions
Placing in depth inquiry learning first!
Exploring the causes and behaviors of our planet’s natural events in order to help people survive natural disasters; detecting, predicting, and warning about hazards to help populations evacuate and/or seek shelter; and, designing atmospheric monitoring devices and specialized weather instruments, even creating devices that trigger smaller hazards in order to prevent larger ones: this is the stuff of real learning!
But is this the kind of “stuff” our school children are doing these days? Creative teachers have always placed developing authentic, realistic and first hand experiences followed by creative expression through the arts central to their programs. Important to such teachers is the need to provide opportunities to develop all the innate gifts and talents of their students. Today, notwithstanding the emphasis being imposed by the government on teaching the basics and, along with the conservative nature of many teachers, which may or may not lead to less real in depth inquiry, Problem Based Learning (PBL) makes clear an opportunity not to ignore the basics but rather integrate them or at least make them personally relevant to the learners so as to develop a positive attitude for such areas.
According to the Buck Institute for Education, PBL requires In-Depth Inquiry as part of the process of learning and creating something new. Students ask questions, search for answers, and arrive at conclusions, leading them to construct something new: an idea, an interpretation, or a product. Such inquiry is organized around open-ended Driving Questions. This focuses students’ work and deepens their learning by framing important issues, debates, challenges or problems. So it is vital that PBL teachers contribute the skills and knowledge required for students to be able to dig deeply into any content they are studying. It is all matter of emphasis. In depth content will call upon all the isolated skills often being taught out of context (and thus easily forgotten).
Through their Discovery Center PBL Hurricane! To the Rescue! experience, fourth grade students will investigate the following Driving Questions:
Jerome Bruner wrote wisely that teaching was ‘the canny art of intellectual temptation’ and teachers who appreciate this, and the innate curiosity of students, keep their eyes open for ideas with which to tempt their students. They also tap into their students’ interests and concern and seasonal environmental experiences. “Hurricane! To the Rescue!”? Yes, this is the stuff of real learning.
November 6, 2012: PBL Significant Content
eBulletin -- Problem Based Learning – An Essential Element: Significant Content
In Problem Based Learning, and even more so in Project Based Learning (PBL), students go through an extended process of inquiry in response to a complex question, problem, or challenge. While allowing for some degree of student “voice and choice,” rigorous projects are carefully planned, managed, and assessed to help students learn key academic content, practice 21st Century Skills, and create high-quality, authentic products & presentations. Another essential element, expressed here and which needs reiteration, is “key academic content”: that which is significant.
So what is Significant Content? When creating Discover Center projects, we need to remember that we cannot cover all the academic standards that are required but should instead focus on important concepts and knowledge found from the standards for a class, whether it be Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, or Expressive Language. A self-check rubric is “Does the project focus on teaching students important knowledge and skills derived from standards and key concepts at the heart of various academic subject areas?”
That considered, the content should also reflect what the teacher thinks is essential to understand about the project topic. And students should find the content to be significant in terms of their own lives and interests. A project should allow for student centered inquiry into a meaningful question.
Through the Discovery Center, we are defining Standards-Focus PBL. According the Buck Institute for Education, standards-focused PBL is designed to acknowledge the importance of standards and evaluation of student learning. Accountability, monitoring, and assessments are up most important to ensure challenging curriculum is developed in the project.
This week we are “Setting Sail for a New Adventure in Discovery,” introducing the DC year-long project: Hurricane! To the Rescue! The attached schematic of the project plan will not only give you a general idea of what fourth grade students – and our entire lower school community for that matter – will experience, but it will also provide a breakdown of the PBL elements which do, in fact, foster significant academic content. And that is key!
November 1, 2012: PBL - 21st Century Skill "Integrates Technology Appropriately"
eBulletin -- Problem Based Learning – An Essential Element: 21st Century Skill: Integrates Technology Appropriately
For most young people today, engagement with new digital media is a routine aspect of life. Through computers, mobile phones, and other handheld devices, youth can blog, tweet, participate in social networks like Facebook, play massive multi-player games, use online information sources, and share videos, stories, music, and art they have created. Important skills and knowledge can be gained from suchactivities, but there are also risks. For example, young people may only rarely consider what it means to be an ethical, socially responsible “citizen” on the Internet. Problem-Based Learning can be a catalyst for student growth in and understanding of what it means to be Digital Citizen.
Integrating Technology Appropriately and becoming a Digital Citizen for the Buck Institute for Education is emphatic. By understanding human, cultural and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior, students will: advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology; exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity; demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning; and, exhibit leadership for digital citizenship.
In the Discovery Center we are encouraging children to think about ethical dimensions of their participation in new media environments. Through role-playing activities and reflective exercises, students are asked to consider the ethical responsibilities of other people, and whether and how they behave ethically themselves online. These issues are raised in relation to five core themes that are highly relevant online: identity, privacy, authorship and ownership, credibility, and participation.
Case in point. We teachers know that quite often kids learn best from other kids; and with this in mind, we asked St. Paul’s fifth graders Luca and Stevie to create a video tutorial for the Discovery Center (see link below). Modeling appropriate skills for holding a collaborative conversation, the boys are also sending a clear message to their peers: whether conversing with one another in the same classroom or on the other side of the world, what is ethical and socially responsible needs to be considered.
As students engage in technology-rich Discovery Center projects, it is important to model and practice digital citizenship. Explicit instruction, lessons and activities must take place to ensure that students are creating good “digital footprints.” In addition, this is a great theme inspiration for a PBL project. From a technology class to a language arts class, students could make recommendations about digital policy or teach other members of the school community and beyond how to be good digital citizens; and in so doing, they themselves become Leaders in Digital Citizenship. Who knows?
October 17, 2012: A Synergetic Conversation
"What do you mean, we have to work together?!"
Former IZLs Collaborate - A Home-Spun Video by Luca and Stevie:
October 16, 2012: PBL - 21st Centruy Skill "Research & Information Fluency"
eBulletin -- An Essential Element: 21st Century Skill -- Research and Information Fluency
Problem Based Learning – An Essential Element: 21st Century Skill: Research and Information Fluency
Success in the 21st century requires knowing how to learn, for students today will likely have several careers in their lifetime. They must develop strong critical thinking and interpersonal communication skills in order to be successful in an increasingly fluid, interconnected, and complex world. Technology allows for 24/7 access to information, constant social interaction, and easily created and shared digital content. In this setting, educators can leverage technology to create an engaging and personalized environment to meet the emerging educational needs of this generation. No longer does learning have to be one-size-fits-all or confined to the classroom. The opportunities afforded by technology should be used to re-imagine 21st-century education, focusing on preparing students to be learners for life.
According to the Buck Institute for Education, the 21st Century Skill of Research and Information Fluency in Problem Based Learning is students applying digital tools and other methods to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students will: plan strategies to guide inquiry; locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media; evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks; and, process data and report results.
When we unpack this standard, one of the key words here is “inquiry.” Students are not simply doing research. PBL projects require students to engage in in-depth inquiry on a specific topic through posing questions, researching and interpreting data, and reporting it. However, as students move through this cycle of inquiry, they may find incomplete data, require further information, or make mistakes. This lets students know that revision and reflection are critical to the inquiry process. In addition, it leverages higher-order thinking skills like synthesis and evaluation, which can ensure that PBL projects are stimulating deep learning.
In their Discovery Center with synchronized Library sessions, students are using a myriad of digital tools to conduct their research. For example, programs such as Skype, Camtasia, and Screencast-o-matic allow for intimate interaction from a far with experts of interest; distance learning at its best! To gain a greater understanding of nature of arcade/video games as well as the engineering design process they will need to follow in creating their own Crusie Arcade Games and Crusie Blank-inators, students engage Mick Scott, St. Paul’s Director of STEM Initiatives and Upper School Engineering Teacher; Jennifer Schneider, St. Paul’s Network Administrator; and, St. Paul’s fifth graders Noah, Stevie and Luca, “video-gaming aficionados,” who conducted a related research in their fourth grade year. (See below:)
Link: Mr. Scott discusses the Engineer Design Process for fourth graders. Click here for an excellent explanation...
Picture: Mrs. Schneider (Reagan’s Mom) instructs third graders in Engineering Design of “Inators”...
October 9, 2012: PBL - 21st Century Skill "Critical Thinking, Problem-Solving & Decision Making"
eBulletin -- An Essential Element: 21st Century Skill -- Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
Problem Based Learning – An Essential Element: 21st Century Skill – Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making …
As the 21st century gathers momentum, more than ever, higher-order thinking skills, self-regulated learning habits, and problem-solving skills are necessary. This is another focus of the Discovery Center, a place for a student-centered, active learner approach; a problem-based learning approach that “empowers students to conduct research, integrate theory and practice, and apply knowledge and skills to develop a viable solution to a defined problem” – Buck Institute for Education.
Critical thinking is the crux! In truth, schools should always teach students critical thinking skills for “sussing out” the quality of information, yet historically schools have had a tendency to fall back on the gatekeeping functions of professional editors and journalists, not to mention of textbook selection committee and librarians, to ensure that the information is generally reliable. Once students enter cyberspace, however, where anyone can post anything, they need skills in evaluating the quality of different sources, how perspectives and interests can color representations, and the likely mechanisms by which misinformation is perpetuated or corrected.
In the context argued here is a mode of active engagement, one that encourages experimentation and risk-taking, one that views the process of solving a problem as important as finding the answer, one that offers clearly defined goals and roles that encourage strong identifications and emotional investments. This, we hope for our students in the Discovery Center.
According to Buck Institute for Education on 21st Century Skills, sub-skills for Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making are clearly explained. Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and other resources. Students will: identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation; plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project; collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions; and, use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions.
So are St. Paul’s students actually doing this; “thinking critically, solving problems, and making decisions” in the Discovery Center? Yes! During the month of October, third graders will demonstrate their interpretation of the problem-solving creativity of Dr. Doofenshmirtz, the ingenious character from Disney’s Phineas and Ferb, whose wacky schemes and contraptions cause all kinds of mayhem; however, our creations will be for the common good! Upon completing their engineering feats, students will present their “Crusie [problem]-inator”contraptions to others of our St. Paul’s community, thereby modeling and fostering critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making in their peers as well. Even Dr. Doofenshmirtz will be impressed, and no doubt will want to duplicate!
October 2, 2012: PBL - 21st Century Skill "Creativity & Innovation"
eBulletin -- An Essential Element: 21st Century Skill – Creativity and Innovation
Problem Based Learning – An Essential Element: 21st Century Skill – Creativity and Innovation …
Another goal of the Discovery Center is to create an environment wherein students realize they can follow their imaginings; where creativity and innovation are encouraged, as the rule and not the exception. But how to do that?
Teaching for creativity (there is a difference between teaching creatively and teaching for creativity), where the pedagogy is designed to encourage students to think creatively, we encourage kids to experiment, to innovate, not giving them all the answers but giving them the tools they need to find out what the answers might be or to explore new avenues. Within the particular domain of the Discovery Center, it is perfectly appropriate to say to our students, “We’re interested in new and original ways you can approach these issues.” We believe this is important!
So, if creativity and innovation are so important, should we assess them? Whether there could be an individual grade for creativity, that’s a larger question. Certainly giving credit for originality, encouraging it, and giving kids some way of reflecting on whether these new ideas are more effective than existing ideas is a powerful part of pedagogy. But you cannot reduce everything to a number in the end, and we do not think we should. That is part of the problem. The regime of standardized testing has led us all to believe that if you cannot count it, it does not count. Actually, in every creative approach some of the things we are looking for are hard, if not impossible, to quantify. But that does not mean they do not matter. When we hear people say, “Well, of course, you can’t assess creativity,” we think, “You can—just stop and think about it a bit.”
According to Buck Institute for Education on 21st Century Skills, sub-skills for both Creativity and Innovation are clearly explained. Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes by applying existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes; by creating original works as a means of personal or group expression; by using models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues; and, by identifying trends and forecast possibilities.
How are the students “creating and innovating” in the Discovery Center of late? During the month of October, St. Paul’s fourth graders will kick off their interpretation of The Imagination Foundation’s “Caine’s Arcade Global Cardboard Challenge,” and sometime thereafter invite all lower school students to play their “Crusies Arcade” constructions, thereby modeling and fostering creativity and innovation in their peers as well. Just imagine!
September 25, 2012: PBL - 21st Century Skill "Communication & Collaboration"
eBulletin - "An Essential Element: 21st Century Skill - Communicating and Collaborating"
Problem Based Learning – An Essential Element: 21st Century Skill - Communicating and Collaborating …
One of the goals of the Discovery Center is to support students in their efforts to communicate and collaborate with others. But what exactly does that mean to a third or fourth grader? For that matter, what does it mean to us teachers and parents?
According to Buck Institute for Education, sub-skills for both Communicating and Collaboration are clearly delineated:
To communicate clearly, a student must: Articulate thoughts and ideas effectively using oral, written and nonverbal communication skills in a variety of forms and contexts; Listen effectively to decipher meaning, including knowledge, values, attitudes and intentions; Use communication for a range of purposes (e.g. to inform, instruct, motivate and persuade); Utilize multiple media and technologies, and know how to judge their effectiveness a priori as well as assess their impact; and, Communicate effectively in diverse environments (including multi-lingual).
To collaborate with others, a student must: Demonstrate ability to work effectively and respectfully with diverse teams; Exercise flexibility and willingness to be helpful in making necessary compromises to accomplish a common goal; and, Assume shared responsibility for collaborative work, and value the individual contributions made by each team member.
Okay. Seems pretty straight forward, though perhaps a little “heady” for the students, and even for some of us adults! So how do we engage the children who enter the Discovery Center in captivating ways so to support them in understanding and developing these skills? Two ways: Wiki-spaces and avatars! And here are a couple of very good friends who have collaborated with each other in order to communicate clearly how to use these tools, as well as provide an overview of the problem based learning process, as they did for the third and fourth grade “discoverers extraordinaire” this past week.
Max, Discovery Center Mascot:
http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=6548358&height=267&width=200
From Out of this World - Our Good Friend “Disco-very”:
http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=6629647&height=267&width=200
September 18, 2012: DC - PBL = "A World of Opportunity"
eBulletin - A “World of Opportunity”
The Discovery Center: A “World of Opportunity” through Problem Based Learning?
Problem-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered pedagogy in which children learn about a subject in the context of complex, and realistic problems. The goals of PBL are to help students develop flexible knowledge, effective problem solving skills, self-directed learning, effective collaboration skills and intrinsic motivation. Working in groups, students identify what they already know, what they need to know, and how and where to access new information that may lead to resolution of the problem. The role of the instructor (known as the PBL teacher) is that of facilitator of learning who provides appropriate support of the process, modeling of the process, and monitoring of learning. In essence, PBL is an opportunity for students to take charge of their learning.
To help expound the potential of the Discovery Center this past week, an inspirational video was shown to the fourth graders during class as well as to the entire student body at assembly – Caine’s Arcade. Caine, a nine-year-old boy, who through his imagination, determination, passion for creativity, and a cardboard box, has become known the world over; and, he brings a hopeful message for our St. Paul’s students: If a little boy of East LA with seemingly limited opportunity can go as far as his dreams will carry him, just think what you can accomplish with the opportunities provided to you by your parents and teachers!
For our St. Paul’s students who enter through the door of the Discovery Center, may a cardboard box illuminate a “World of Opportunity”…
September 17, 2012: "Out of This World Avatars"
Creating Student Avatars - Communication from Out of This World
What does Disco-very have to say?
September 11-12, 2012: Back to School Night "PBL Presentation"
Back to School Night “Discovery Center – PBL” Presentation
How Can I Explain PBL to Parents and Others in Our Community?
In preparing for this evening, I asked myself, How can I explain succinctly the effectiveness of Problem Based Learning to parents and others of our St. Paul’s community, and in about two or three minutes? For PBL may be very different from the instruction that many of us experienced in our own schooling. Furthermore, in our current standards and testing culture, some parents and community members may have concerns about teachers and schools deviating from more traditional methods of instruction. Therefore, showing is probably better the telling. Researchers have consistently found that parents, administrators, trustee members, and community members are impressed when they learn more about PBL, particularly if they have the opportunity to observe students at work. Well, with the design of our new Discovery Center, observation is definitely a continual possibility!
Also encouraging stakeholders to be involved in PBL as guest speakers with expertise on the problem topic, or as members of a panel to which students present their solutions, can be powerful ways to engender community understanding and support for PBL; and we plan to do just that – so be ready!
Moreover, educators who encourage their charges to use the PBL approach to learning are impressed with the seriousness with which students approach a problem, with their knowledge, and with the entire philosophy; in fact, we believe that in a perfect world all K–12 schools and undergraduate institutions should be doing more of this type of instruction to prepare students for their eventual place in an information-driven, problem-centered, collaborative work world. Though we cannot control what other institutions do, we can have an impact on how children learn here at St. Paul’s. And we believe Problem Based Learning is one way to go.
Well, I am not sure I am still within my time limit; but here is someone I know can do it in sixty seconds, as he did when he spoke to the students about the Center and PBL this past week … [show Max the Avatar]. (The students will be creating their own avatars and wiki-spaces to communicate their discoveries with the rest of our community.)
Let me conclude with this idea … If you just take away with you this evening just a few simple sentences that may help you better understand Problem Based Learning, I will have done my job:
Enjoy your evening, and if you have any questions, I would be happy to get together … anytime. Thank you.
September 10, 2012: "Caine's Arcade - Marble Maze Team Challenge"
Crusie Marble Maze - Team Challenge
Based on the inspirational video, "Caine's Arcade," about a young boy of East LA who created a life-size arcade out of his own imagination, and cardboard. His creativity, determination, and overall spitirt is truly remarkable. The StP Crusies were indeed impressed! The fourth graders completed yet another small group challenge designing and implementing an arcade game (marble maze) with limited resources and time.
Caine's Arcade:
Crusie Arcade - Marble Maze Small Group Challenge:
Using only the materials provided in your group’s container: one cardboard box; one piece of poster board, three large index cards, one empty toilet roll tube, one pair scissors, 1.5 meters of masking tape, and one marble, construct an arcade maze-game so that your marble drops from a minimum height of 30 cm (12 inches) to the ground/surface in the longest amount of time possible. Minimum time must be greater than 3 seconds.
September 4, 2012: Voki Avatars
Communicating and Collaborating - Learning about Voki Avatars
What does Max the Dog, our macot, have to say about the Discovery Center?
The New Lower School Discovery Center according to Max:
September 4, 2012: Discovery Center: An Invitation
Webmaster & eBulletin —An invitaion
Though we have eyes, we cannot see.
There are three things that we may be. What are we?
But just one of us three will be; the focus of our first PBL in Discovery.
Name me and you are done. So can you guess which one?
This riddle was recently sent to our fourth graders in anticipation of setting sail for a new adventure in discovery. Well, the time is here! After nearly a year of orchestrated efforts by the administration, faculty, and staff, another wonderful initiative has come to fruition at St. Paul’s: The Lower School Discovery Center; an educational space specifically dedicated to the exploration of technology, math, science and expressive language using a problem-based learning (PBL) approach.
What is PBL? In problem-based learning students go through an extended process of inquiry in response to a complex question, problem, or challenge. While allowing for student "voice and choice," rigorous projects are carefully planned, managed, and assessed to help students learn key academic content, practice 21st Century Skills (such as collaboration, communication & critical thinking), and create high-quality, authentic products & presentations.
And what do you think our students hope to experience in the Discovery Center? Much(!) – all highly motivating, and to the extent of their collective imaginations. When Zach Hill first saw the completed Center, he was visibly thrilled; hardly containing himself, he asked, “Mr. May, is that your new classroom?” To which I replied, “No, it is yours, and what will you make of it?” Come watch Zack and his classmates discover!
August 28, 2012: First Week - "Where Do I Sit?"
Welcome to the Discovery Center: "Where do I Sit?" Team Challenge
“Where do I sit?” It’s the universal first question at the top of students’ minds as they cross the threshold of a classroom on the first day of class. By engaging students in seating challenges, a positive collaborative tone is immediately set. And much information is gained about how each class will function – information that might otherwise take weeks to learn. So on their first day in the Discovery Center, students determined where they will sit based on team problem-solving activities. These activities provided baseline data about class chemistry, learning styles, and students’ personalities. The approach required students to demonstrate proactivity, collaboration, resourcefulness, and interdependence. And they experienced their teacher’s expectations firsthand. In return, students learned to expect their teacher to be prepared, organized, and supportive – as opposed to being authoritative and having all the answers.
During one of the more complicated activities, students were allowed to discuss instructions with their tablemates, for they needed to fully understand what to do before leaving their tables and wrestle collectively the solution – in complete silence. The first table group predictably jumped too quickly and was obviously struggling. Ryan Kness, witnessing this from the second group still seated but readying to join the first, dramatically slammed his hand down on the table and standing on a rung of his stool so he could be heard and seen, declared, “I am still at my table and so I can talk!” He then directed the entire class until the challenge was completed, and in record time. I laughed uncontrollably (the only time I interjected) to celebrate his out-of-the-box thinking while remaining within the parameters of the conundrum, “Bravo!” Needless to say, Ryan beamed with pride. Now that is what problem based learning is all about!
August 27, 2012: New Parent DC Talk - "It's Here!"
A Talk with New Parents about the Discovery Center
Well, the time is here! After nearly a year of orchestrated efforts by the administration, faculty, and staff, another wonderful initiative has come to fruition at St. Paul’s: The Lower School Discovery Center; an educational space specifically dedicated to the exploration of technology, math, science and expressive language using a problem-based learning (PBL) approach.
What is PBL? In problem-based learning students go through an extended process of inquiry in response to a complex question, problem, or challenge. While allowing for student "voice and choice," rigorous projects are carefully planned, managed, and assessed to help students learn key academic content, practice 21st Century Skills (such as collaboration, communication & critical thinking), and create high-quality, authentic products & presentations.
August 20, 2012: A Teacher's Reflection -- Setting Sights for a New Horizon
A Teacher’s Reflection:
"What is in Our Students’ Best Interest?"
I was asked to keep a journal chronicling the inaugural year of the Discovery Center. We expanded the idea to a Classroom Blog and Student Wikispace Pages! So, here goes ...
This is the first entry:
We are asked to think about this a lot as educators, but what does it mean? Project Based Learning sums it up really well, that our students’ best interest is what we do in order to allow our students to be creative and explore boundaries; to tap into their prior knowledge; to express their culture and build on their strengths; and to validate their passions. As in our Independent Studies Lab, students look at their learning in a new way. Students also build trust between each other and their teachers because they are given a voice in their learning. What will be different with the creation of our Lower School Discovery Center is that this kind of experience will be available to many more children; very exciting! And, through Project Based Learning we teachers are put in a place of learning right alongside our students; and that is in our best interest, too."
Mike May
May 10, 2012: Lower School Preview Night
St. Paul's Lower School Preview Night
The New Lower School Discovery Center - Prezi Presentation to Parents, Spring 2012: